White Crystal
by Sapphire Blue Frost
Summary: A dutiful first princess gave up her position as a general to become the wife of King Sinbad, Lady Killer of the Seven Seas. How will Hakuei handle the change: from a violent country to a peaceful country, from a carefree husband to a proper husband and from a general with little say in decisions to a queen who is second in command of a country?
1. Chapter 1: A Tool

After Kou's internal war, Hakuryuu became emperor and all was at peace. Arba is now dead and Al-Thamen is gone. Judal and Alibaba had returned safely. There were no more wars and Sinbad asked that Hakuryuu form an alliance between the Kou Empire and Sindria to secure the peace. In return, Sinbad had to marry Hakuei, First Imperial Princess, a dungeon capturer and general of Kou. Kou had to give up slavery completely whilst Sindria gave up his spell on Kouquoku and its king's freedom as a bachelor (somewhat). As a personal wedding gift, Kouen had gifted Hakuei with a large amount of books on politics and government and Sinbad built Hakuei her own personal quarters near the castle library.

After their consummation on their wedding night, Hakuei immediately moved into her quarters. She was not a gullible girl who believed in a marriage union because of love. She knows that it wouldn't be right of her to demand her husband's attention as much as it is within her powers to as his wife.

The citizens of Sindria respect Hakuei. She was very kind and polite although the kitchen staff learned to be wary of Hakuei's attempts at cooking. She got along well with the generals and her attendant and household vessel, Siesyun, also became a general of Sindria. Hakuei would often duel with Sharrkan and help Yamuraiha organize her notes. Occasionally would she take care of Pisti's wild animals and play with Hinahoho's children. Masur, Drakkon and Spartos were quiet company. Out of all the original eight generals, she got along with Ja'Far the best. They would spent hours together dealing with paperwork and looking over documents in Sinbad's place. She honestly didn't understand Sinbad's lack of duty to paperwork. Back in Kou, all three princes completed everything that was required of them, some more than others, even if they were to complain during the whole process.

Unknown to Hakuei, Sinbad was watching her in the form of a bird native to Sindria. He had also moved Zepar's spell on Kouquoku onto Hakuei. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, though it would be best to be cautious for now and understand exactly what the most invasive country in the world wanted, even if he was the one to suggest the alliance in the first place. There were many princess who wanted to marry Sinbad for his good looks and a chance to influence the Seven Seas Alliance but their first princess was the top choice. The nobles obviously didn't put Sinbad in high regard if he was given their first princess, someone who is important now but not then because of her relationship to the emperor. Hakuei Ren might seem like a kind and gentle, but strict, person, one can never be too cautious when dealing with the Kou Empire. And he hadn't wanted to put that spell on her younger and more innocent cousin; it was just business as usual even if some people hadn't seen it that way.


	2. Chapter 2: Changes

When waking up the morning after her wedding night, Hakuei thought about Kou's demand of a heir as soon as possible. She gently touch her lower stomach where the baby would grow when she get pregnant. She wondered that, as Paimon's master, would she also become fertile enough for a babe after just one night.

Maybe it was because she had already known that Paimon was a very fertile djinn or the fact that her wedding night was very, very passionate, Hakuei wasn't in complete denial when her djinn had announced her queen pregnant with a babe two weeks after her marriage. However, she was in disbelief. She had only moved to Sindria and learn her way around the castle. Though her routine helped her get close to many people, they were only acquaintances at best. Regardless of all this, Hakuei knew that she had to tell her king.

Meanwhile, Sinbad was in the middle of drinking his wine during breakfast when he received the news from his spell and, in surprise, spit out all his drink and choked. He had not anticipated a heir so soon and though Kou was demanding that Hakuei is to be pregnant in at most five years, he was not in any hurry. A pregnant woman is more trouble and worry and though Hakuei is a reasonable woman, unlike so many of those he had been with, he thought about what his enemies could do if they heard about his heir. Then he grinned, thinking about how Hakuei was going to tell him about this news. Though she had spent her time surrounded by male soldiers and grew up to a mature woman, she is still a girl and victim to male charm.

"What's wrong, Sinbad?" Ja'Far asked, slightly amused by the sight of his king showing surprise out of nothing.

"Nothing that needs to be mentioned right now. Hakuei will tell us all later." He waved the question away.

"Tell us what?" The other generals looked at Sinbad, curiosity clear on their faces.

Right on cue, Hakuei entered the dining room with Seisyun, her face unreadable. "Good morning."

"The king said that you had something important to tell us, Queen Hakuei. What is it?" Yamuraiha asked.

"I don't have any important news right now."

"I disagree. Hakuei's going to be moving into my quarters so we were discussing which one of you should get her old rooms." Sinbad smirked.

Hakuei's cheeks turned slightly pink. "When have we decided such a thing?"

"Since we received that letter from the Kou Empire asking about heirs."

"Milord!" her exclamation stood out from the generals' laughter excluding Seisyun who's still not used to the overly humorous nature of Sindria compared to Kou's seriousness.

"So when can we expect a heir, Sin?" Sharrkan asked, still guffawing at Hakuei's red face.

"Maybe now, maybe later. When can we expect one from you and Yamuraiha?" Now it was their turn to laugh as Sharrkan and Yamuraiha blushed an incredibly deep red and immediately started arguing.

* * *

"Please stop joking, milord." Hakuei had told Sinbad after breakfast as Sinbad followed her to her rooms.

"About what?" He feigned an innocent look.

"I won't be moving into your rooms and sleep in the same bed as you are." Hakuei replied flatly.

"I was serious about you moving into my rooms and sleeping in my bed."

"Why? You have those drinking habits and we simply don't match. This is, after all, a political marriage."

"Political marriage or not, you are still my wife. I am entitled to show you affection. It is my duty as a husband."

"You have not bothered to show me affection for the two weeks we were married. What can I do to change your mind?"

"I didn't think about heirs and why would you want me to change my mind? Don't all girls think about romance?"

She looked at him sharply, "Not all girls are like that. Anyway, how long will this last?"

"Forever until one of us or both of us dies."

"What exactly brought this on?"

"I told you. Kou has been inquiring heirs."

"They gave me a deadline of a few years. Why now?"

"Why not? Would you like to join me for training tomorrow?"

She gave him a strange look. "I already promised Sharrkan I'd help him train."

"That's dangerous."

"I'll live."But when she turned to face Sinbad, she thought that his face had turned dark but that look disappeared as quickly as the wind and she ignored it. "If you want me to sleep with you, you can't be sleeping without any clothes or bring any other women into the bed."

"That's fine." He chuckled when he saw the brief moment of shock on his queen's face. Hakuei did know how to mask her emotions quickly but he had been surrounded by those who wanted to take over his kingdom for many years. She can't hide much from him, even without Zepar. Though he wonder if she would have hid the pregnancy from him.

"But who are you planning to give my quarters to?"

He looked down to his queen's adorable little face. Smooth white skin with only a pale scar and the small mole in the corner and now, decorated with a faint blush. It made him want to enchant her and seduce her right there. But, he had to remind himself, that Hakuei was not the kind of woman who would give in easily and probably wouldn't like that. He smiled gently. "You can decide. Don't beat yourself over it. As much as I like Yamuraiha, I would prefer it if she didn't have as much work to do, even if it means limiting the space she needs to store everything."

Surprisingly, she smiled softly in amusement and Sinbad noted that they were off to a good start.


	3. Chapter 3: Hurt

The next day, Hakuei woke up at dawn just to find out that she had been moved to Sinbad's rooms in the middle of the night. Blankly, she stared at the way Sinbad was hugging her loosely around the waist as she sat up. Then she patted her lower stomach and whispered a greeting to her unborn baby, not knowing that Sinbad was awake the whole time. She attempted to get up from the bed but any movement only made Sinbad snuggle closer until his head was in her lap and she was being used as a pillow.

She thought that Sinbad was going to sleep through the entire day as the sun was rising steadily but was soon saved when Ja'Far came rushing into the room, not bothering to knock.

"Sin! We have a problem!"

However, she was fortunately saved by Ja'Far who burst through the door, demanding that Sinbad awaken. Though Hakuei's face burned at being caught in such a position with the king, she was grateful for the interruption. Who knows how long her lord was going to sleep?

"Good morning, Queen Hakuei. Please excuse my interruption but there are several foreign ambassadors that would like to meet you and King Sinbad. Now, if you could just move away, I'll wake up milord." He added that last sentence with a particularly dangerous look at the still pretending to sleep Sinbad.

She smiled. "I'm afraid that's going to be complicated, Ja'Far. He'd only move closer when I try to move."

"Then please angle yourself away from his head. Some cold water always does the trick." With that said, he grabbed the basin of water kept aside just for waking Sinbad up and proceeded to carefully dump its contents on his king, keeping mindful of his queen. Sinbad jolted up with a gasp and a complaint.

"You could have just told me to get up you know. Shaking doesn't do much harm either. No need to give me a cold."

"We tried that many times. However, the only way to actually get you out of bed is for one of us to pour water on you and wait for you to get dressed before dragging you away from your resting quarters. Though Masur and Hinahoho would do, it is part of my unofficial job." Ja'Far replied dryly.

Hakuei chuckled and moved to change; there wasn't enough time for a bath this late in the morning. However, Sinbad just grabbed her close to kiss her full on the lips, a chaste little touch that she had no idea the Womanizer of the Seven Seas could achieve, before getting out of bed to change himself. Hakuei's face burned with embarrassment though Ja'Far looks unaffected with the sudden display and looked away for her sake.

* * *

With a horribly embarrassing morning, Hakuei's day had only gotten worse. When she had caught up with Sharrkan, he'd insisted on canceling their training and Masur was staring at her for no absolute reason. (The only reason she noticed because Paimon informed her of it. Her djinn had thought that there was a little crush forming though quieted down when she noticed her mistress's disapproval.)

And then there was the fact that Sinbad never seems to be able to leave her alone. He's there was she eats, when she trains and when she rests. He doesn't even leave when she enters Ja'Far's office to do paperwork! Her husband had just requested her to bring her work into his office and work there while he goes over documents. King Sinbad, the one that Ja'Far complained daily about slacking and escaping away to have fun! It was so out of character that Hakuei was beginning to think that Al Thamen had snuck into Sindria, kidnapped the king, and replaced Sinbad with someone else. It was a very disturbing thought and it wasn't until that next day when Hakuei found out what really was plaguing her husband so.

Paimon had woken her up, telling her to hurry to the bathroom for her morning sickness and that she'll need time to escape from SInbad's clutches. But when she had woken up, Sinbad' hands wasn't around her like they usually was and he was laying on his side, facing away from her. At first, she overlooked this minor detail but when she was done and returning to bed, Sinbad was awake and waiting for her, a look of concern on his face.

She was fumbling for an excuse but her king took her hand and a jolt of his magoi ran through her veins, burning like ice. She had gaped, unable to form any words. A sudden wave of dread washed over her as she formed a conclusion. And as if Sinbad read her mind, he opened his mouth, probably to explain, but she didn't give him a chance to. Not with the anger running through her veins and before Sinbad could regret his choice to inform of her of Zepar, she slapped him across the face, hard, with the back of her right hand.

"How could you?!" She screamed, her voice filled with betrayal, eyes filling with tears and a sob rose in her throat. "After all the pain you caused Kougyoku, how could you do this again?! And to your own wife no less." Her voice turned cold and calm, quiet and deadly. "Do you not trust even your wife?" And with that, she turned to walk out the door, leaving Sinbad still stunned, hand raising slowly to touch his red cheek.


	4. Chapter 4: Stubborn

Sinbad was in shock. A girl had not fallen to his charms. A girl who was his wife had slapped him. Anger clouded his mind and he began to see red. The David inside of him screamed that he will not be made a fool out of anyone, much less a woman. The gentleman in him thought that the lady was within her rights. And the king inside of him wanted to ignore this incident and go back to his duties.

Listening to the king inside of him, and ignoring the David part, he decided to lock this incident away until he meet with Hakuei again in private. Which wasn't until extremely late at night, he realized, giving up and staying up and chose to pretend to go to sleep instead. Hakuei can possibly be more stubborn than him, he decided before actually falling asleep. Which couldn't necessarily be a good thing.

He still can't read her intentions and control her like he could do with her cousin. All he knows is that she is an incredibly serious and kind person, something like a female version of Ja'Far but with actual humor and able to show emotions easily. But Hakuei is still from the Kou Empire, the country with plenty of bad history involving politics.

* * *

Hakuei is definitely more stubborn than him, Sinbad though resolutely as his wife evaded him day after day for a whole week. She had already moved back to her private quarters and locked Sinbad out of it. Her work is done in her office and she eats her meals in private or with Seisyun there for company. Sinbad couldn't have broken down the door as Ja'Far would be on him for destroying the palace and it would a violation of trust. Frustrated and angry, he would pace around, doing no work and trying to drown himself in alcohol. No women was brought to his bed because he had promised Hakuei that.

Hakuei, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck. The only reason she hadn't broken down was because she was from the Kou Empire, a country where there are always people looking forward to stab you in the back. In such an environment, every influential figure has to learn to school their expressions to reveal no weakness. That's what she considers her inner turmoil with Sinbad: a weakness.

Avoiding Sinbad could only last so long as a strategy. She was mortified with the way she had acted out against her husband and lord but she could not turn back time. Besides, she thought with a huff, he deserved it for placing such a spell on her. After all Kougyoku suffered at the hands of that spell, he would still use it. And when Sinbad was found in her rooms after she came back from her bath, her first reaction was to walk straight back out. But when she turned around, Sinbad was right there in front of the door.

"Wha-"

"You have been avoiding me." And so the argument began.


	5. Chapter 5: Compromise

Hakuei smiled brightly and graciously received the congratulations of yet another ambassador. Her cheeks hurt from smiling so much, her hand was sweating from constantly holding Sinbad's hands and her head hurt from all the loud noises. Kou had never thrown such wild parties so she was not used to them yet. Despite the headache, she could still remember clearly the fight she and Sinbad had.

* * *

There was a tense silence as Hakuei slowly backed away from Sinbad and into her bed in the corner. She knew that she can't outrun or outmaneuver her lord to get away and this conversation is long overdue. Yet she can't help but want to run away from this. The king whom she had been forced to marry and abandon her dreams of being a general for. The king who had hurt her cousin's feelings and used her like a pawn. The king who, not matter what the consequences, would do anything to protect his country, just like her cousins Kouen. But firsts things first. She had to clear her mind and be logical for this fight, not letting any hormones get in the way of logics.

She took a deep breath and Sinbad prepared himself for screaming but-"Please remove the spell, milord."

"Wha-"

"I do not wish to be kept an eye on like I am untrustworthy." She raised an eyebrow. "Do you not even trust your own wife?"

He was cornered. "I'll remove it after I have this conversation. I would not like it if you escaped again, though this time, by fainting."

She scowled. "I am much stronger than that."

"But the baby will put a greater strain on your body."

"It is none of you concern. I can handle it."

"Your magoi level is not as high as Kougyoku's and even she fainted after I removed the spell."

Hakuei scowled at the reminder of her poor cousin who had fallen into Sinbad's clutches and immediately, Sinbad knew that he had brought up the wrong thing. " _Princess_ Kougyoku, milord."

"We're family now, aren't we?"

"Only by a political marriage. I do not wish to be anything else in our private lives."

He clenched his jaw in frustration. Hakuei was definitely from Kou. She was way _too_ emotionally detached from a political marriage to be from anywhere else. And now he needs to learn about being a devoted, faithful kind and husband. This is exactly why he wouldn't form commitments! They were too much trouble. "But we still have an appearance to keep in the public eye." Maybe this'll buy him time to get to her heart.

Unable to find a good reason to refuse, Hakuei reluctantly agreed. Sindria was a country where the citizens cherished its royalty, where love is appreciated. Despite their differences, they had to maintain a suitable image for the public lest she be hated by everyone for tying their beloved king down.

* * *

And that is how she found herself with her husband and lord at the party, graciously accepting the congratulations from everyone for her pregnancy. There was absolutely no end to the amount of people sincerely wishing her thanks and it will take a long time for her to get used to the formal air of the Kou Empire. It doesn't matter much anyway. In Sindria, none would try to take advantage of another. It will be a wonderful place to raise a family in.


	6. Chapter 6: Ren Gyokuen

Hakuei had honestly thought that her mother was dead. Everyone said so and her brother had killed her himself. What she didn't know was that, although the body was destroyed, her mother was simply too smart to be gone like that.

Even without Zepar, Sinbad could tell that there was something wrong with Hakuei. Sometimes she would be cool and detached and others, she would be the gentle and firm woman she is. His suspicions were confirmed when Hakuei began taking an interest in Yamuraiha's projects. She offered advice using magical knowledge that Sinbad knows she had never studied before.

* * *

"You really are a good actress, Ren Gyokuen."

Hakuei stiffened. "My lord-" She began to raise her head but her body fell slack. A moment later, she raised her head again, this time with a sly smile.

"Or maybe I should call you Arba?"

The smile grew ugly and twisted as Hakuei's blue eyes turned red. "...You are...Elder David."

Sinbad only smiled and they stared at each other in a battle of wills, neither willing to break eye contact.

"Elder David," she began. "I used to hate you. When I knew you were stealing 'their' power, I followed Solomon and embraced his will in order to kill you, because I knew that you were too powerful to for me. But I have finally understood. Right now, You are one with them 'Il Ilah'. She walked over and threw herself at him. Sinbad's smile was gone as he stared down at her, fully business. "Please! Use my power to your ends!"

Sinbad pushed her away harshly. He did not like Arba anymore than Aladdin did. She was too vile and was not below using her body to gain what she wanted, unlike Hakuei. "I'm afraid you don't understand. I am, Sinbad. I am not David himself. Until now, I have moved according to my own beliefs." He extended an arm towards her. "Arba, you really are a charming woman. You have both knowledge and power that exceed those of anyone else out there but I have no use for you as part of Al Thamen. From now on, you will do everything the way I want it. Is that alright with you?"

Tears ran her face, smearing Hakuei's measly amount of makeup. "Yes, I would be happy to!"

* * *

But someone wasn't going to let those two do as they pleased. The Djinn of Maniacal Love and Chaos wrecked havoc in Arba's soul that night, desperately trying to find her chosen queen. In the mental battleground, Paimon's winds blew the birds up into tornadoes and whirlwinds, reaching deeper and deeper to find Hakuei, soul worn and curled up around a smaller yet white rukh bird, the child. Fury filled her. That woman was beating her queen down, attacking Hakuei enough so that she doesn't die but only able to protect the babe using her own soul. Wrapping herself around the Queen of Sindria, Hakuei was shielded away from the tainted rukh and outside, Arba locked the metal vessel away in a box.


End file.
